I have learned so much since I joined, however there is so much more that I don't know or understand. I would like your feedback on my 401k. I recently increased my contributions and it is at 12%. My company matches 50% up to 6%, which is what I had my contribution at until recently. I've been working for 5 1/2 years and only had $13,000. Since I increased my contributions in December I am at $15.3k. It has gone up $2k since November. I'm a little upset that I didn't contribute more as realistically, I could have over $25k now but it is what it is.

I have the Fidelity FID Freedom K 2050 plan. Right now it is 90% stocks which I think might be a little too high. I am 27. I believe this is an "active fund" (correct? Still learning) because it has two managers. I have not rebalanced or changed anything in this fund because, even now, that is way beyond my knowledge. I don't know if I need to or not.

The more important question is what are the other choices in your 401K and the associated expense ratios.

Yes, sorry, that is what is contained in the fund.

I don't know if I have other choices in the 401k - poked around and the only choice I have is to switch to a different fund, I don't think I can pick and choose (if that was what you were asking). Or at least not that I can easily find.

The expense ratio is .64% and it says it is below the 20th percentile to other similar funds.

The more important question is what are the other choices in your 401K and the associated expense ratios.

Yes, sorry, that is what is contained in the fund.

I don't know if I have other choices in the 401k - poked around and the only choice I have is to switch to a different fund, I don't think I can pick and choose (if that was what you were asking). Or at least not that I can easily find.

The expense ratio is .64% and it says it is below the 20th percentile to other similar funds.

Ask your HR department instead of "poking around" or your company's intranet if there is one.

On the subject of whether or not to like the Fidelity Freedom K Funds: sure they are too complicated on the inside and some think they house a lot of Fidelity's "dogs", but I don't see important differences between the very simple, low cost index Freedom Funds and the others:

Despite the striking differences in the underlying fund selection of each Freedom Fund that I charted (i.e. 26 funds vs. 5 index funds), there is no difference in total bond weights or total U.S. and foreign weights. As such, they behave exactly the same. You could do far worse than investing in your 401k Freedom Fund.

Notice that I used the 2035 funds because they have at least 20% bonds (although M* shows almost 30% total bonds and cash which can't reconcile with Fidelity's information.) This forum regularly recommends that one invest in a lifecycle fund (like your Freedom series) based on willingness, need and tolerance for risk. I wouldn't invest in the 2050 fund with it's 90%-ish stocks without being willing to stomach up to a 40% drop in value during the next crisis (there's always one around the bend...) Not that 90% stocks is inherently bad. It's whether or not you can stay the course.

Your costs and the stock-bond relationship produce the largest impact on portfolio behavior and performance. Fund selection does not.

Rick Ferri's research for The Power of Passive Investing and John Bogle's Cost Matters Hypothesis, as he cleverly calls it, suggests that over decades the lower cost index Freedom Funds will most likely to win in the end, but you don't have them in your plan and we cannot know if we can structure something like it for you until we can see the correct 401k information (don't feel bad, we know you're working on it) and until we can see it in the context of any other investment accounts, as recommended in Laura's tips for Asking Portfolio Questions.

But I'd say your okay with a Freedom Fund for the time being, if not indefinitely.

Thank you pingo, that was the type of explanation I was hoping for I feel much better now.

I'm ok with the 2050 at the moment - we are hoping to expand our family in a year or two in which I will be home. Then I will change it over to something less risky. Right now I'm trying to accumulate as much as I can - if for some reason I did lose half of it that would be really upsetting but wouldn't put me out on the streets. It's something we could recover from - I don't have that much.